A Look At Copenhagen: Rich History And Real Pleasures

Grand Tour 2017—First Stop, Copenhagen

Over the past several summers, Lief and I have been leading our children on a do-it-ourselves Grand Tour in series.

Each August we target a region of Europe for closer inspection. This year: Scandinavia and the Baltic States.

It wasn’t my choice. Lief was keen to visit Northern Europe where none of us has spent time before. I agreed reluctantly. I couldn’t say why exactly, but I’ve never felt the urge to get to know the Baltic better. Now I feel I owe the place and its population an apology. Our sampler excursion over the past two weeks has piqued my interest. You could even say I’m a fan.

I enjoy countries with long, complicated histories, and every country in this zone qualifies.

Copenhagen, where we kicked off this summer’s grand touring, was founded in the year 1000. The fishing village, originally known as Havn, prospered thanks to the shoals of herring just offshore. In fact, little Havn so flourished that Hanseatic League members considered it a threat. They attacked and attacked until, finally, they succeeded in destroying the city’s castle. That’s one way to deal with unwanted competition.

Copenhagen’s New Port has a vibe and a charm that is not to be missed

Years ago a friend in Belize made a point that has stuck with me. “A country,” he told me, “never escapes its origins. The United States was founded by puritans. Belize was founded by pirates.”

And Copenhagen was founded by Vikings. Danes today are Vikings still, hale and hearty, tall and blond.

Danes today are also considered the happiest people on earth enjoying, according to some surveys, the best quality of life on the planet. Maybe it’s all the stimulants. These merry folks imbibe more cups of coffee and more pints of beer per capita per year than any other population. In the 1700s, part of a Danish sailor’s compensation was 10 liters of beer a day.

Whatever the explanation for their decidedly cheery dispositions, our limited experience residing among them would corroborate the position. These are happy people, quick with a smile and always up for a chat.

All these attractive descendants of the Norse gods get around their compact city on bicycles. Starting in 1910, Copenhagen has been carving out bike lanes. Today more than 50% of Copenhageners commute to school and work by bike. They do this every day of the year, regardless of the weather. Remember, this is Viking stock.

In Copenhagen, the preferred mode of transportation is bikes. Look out…they have the right of way

The other best way to get around Copenhagen is on your own two feet. Be on the watch, though, for the bicycles. They are everywhere—in the streets, on the sidewalks, in the squares, and parked in every possible space—and they have the right-of-way.

No one seems to lock their bikes. We’d see huge masses of them lined up and passers-by stopping to hop on one and ride off. Is it some kind of leave-one, take-one, bicycles-for-all system?

Over the past decade, Copenhagen has built a global reputation for its architecture, art, and museums. However, the city’s most iconic attraction is less cultural. Smack in the heart of the city is Tivoli Gardens, a pre-Disney Disney where locals come regularly to pass Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

Even Walt Disney was impressed by the beauty and fun of Tivoli Gardens

In fact, Walt visited Tivoli when researching ideas for his park; “Now this is what an amusement place should be!” he is reported to have remarked.

You walk past the brick façade and turnstile gates of Tivoli coming and going through the center of town and so are continually reminded of the simple pleasures and beautiful gardens within.

Tivoli is Copenhageners’ private playground, and this has always been the intention. Georg Carstensen persuaded Denmark’s King Christian VIII to grant him a charter to build the park by suggesting, “When people are amusing themselves, they do not think about politics.” Danish bread and circuses.

It’s effective still. Wandering these garden paths, stopping for a cold glass of prosecco served by a lighthearted Dane, the politics of no country seem to matter much.

All this contentment comes at a cost. Everything is taxed and surcharged and surtaxed. The result is a cost of living that exceeds that of Paris.

“Nice as it is here,” Lief finally said, “we need to get out of this town.”

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.